Group winners Canada and Czechia advance to the final at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton, Alberta.
Canada handled Team USA by a 5-1 count at Rogers Arena. Cameron Schmidt, Alex Huang, Cole Reschny, Luca Romano and Gavin McKenna scored for the hosts. Sam Spehar was the only goalscorer for the Americans. Jack Ivankovic stopped 28 of 29 shots on goal.
Czechia surrendered the game-opening goal, but went on to win by the same 5-1 score to secure a shot at the gold medal. Vít Zahejsky scored twice and Adam Benak, Tomas Malinek and Viktor Samal added goals for the Czechs. Viktor Klingsell tallied Sweden’s only goal.
In the fifth place game, Slovakia beat Germany 5-2 and in the seventh place game Finland skated to a 5-2 win over Switzerland.
Today’s games
- Bronze: Sweden (A2) vs. USA (B2) 3:30 p.m.
- Gold: Czechia (B1) vs. Canada (A1) 8 p.m.
There was one NHL transaction on Friday. Matthew Phillips signed a one-year, two-way deal for the league minimum with the Calgary Flames. The 26-year-old forward spent most of last season with the Washington Capitals and also played three games with the Pittsburgh Penguins.